Spider silk

Spider silk is an extremely strong and elastic natural fibre produced by the spinning glands of spiders. Its main component is the protein fibroin, rich in alanine and glycine. It is considered one of the strongest known natural materials—some types of spider silk are up to five times stronger than steel of the same weight, while also being exceptionally lightweight and flexible. The history of its use dates back to World War II, when spider silk was employed in optical sights, surgical sutures, and violin strings. Obtaining spider silk is highly challenging because spiders are territorial and produce only small amounts of silk. As a result, attempts at commercial production have been limited and mostly successful only in experimental projects. For example, researchers once required four years of manual collection to produce fabric from millions of silk threads. In the textile industry, spider silk is mainly used in specialised applications such as bullet-resistant textiles, high-tech composites, and medical materials. Today, scientists are also exploring synthetic biotechnological production methods using genetically modified bacteria, yeast, and silkworms to replicate spider silk proteins on a larger scale.